Newell said that the new system "sort of fits better into the scalability in terms of graphics performance and CPU performance," and that those advantages can help "fit it" into Valve's own model for development scalability.

In other words, now that Nintendo has a console that's up to par with the other guys', it's a bit more likely Valve would want to develop a game for it. Maybe not exclusively for it, but it sounds like the potential for an extra system to get a port of Valve's newest game is ever-so-slightly higher. Newell also made sure to say that Valve has "always loved Nintendo," which didn't always hold true for, say, Sony.

At the Wii U's debut at E3, Nintendo made a clear point that they wanted the system to be attractive to third-party developers, especially those outside Japan. Onstage input from EA's John Riccitiello reinforced that, and with Valve expressing interest as well, the future for Nintendo's new platform already has promise.